Municipal leaders vote no on Martin Mars contract
Despite being impressive, water bomber deemed not the best use of B.C. resources
Municipal politicians will not urge the provincial government to sign a long-term deal with the company that owns the Martin Mars water bomber.
The City of Port Alberni put forward a resolution at the Union of B.C. Municipalities annual conference asking for a 10-year contract with Coulson Group, which is based in the city and owns two of the firefighting aircraft, and for Coulson to upgrade the aircraft to meet operational requirements.
The province’s previous contract with Coulson expired in 2013.
“Think about how people feel when they hear this plane come over,” Port Alberni Mayor Mike Ruttan told his fellow conference delegates on Friday. “It’s iconic. It embodies safety — it embodies we are going to be saved.”
The resolution was defeated after a lengthy debate.
Strathcona Regional District director Jim Abram pointed to this year’s “incredibly bad” fire season as a reason to contract the aircraft.
“Everything was up in flames. For us to stand here and say we’re not going to throw every single resource at the fire when it happens puts us in a really bad position, makes us look very foolish to our constituents,” he said. “Those planes — they’re old, they are still the best.”
He called arguments against the planes “frivolous.”
Cariboo Regional District director Joan Sorley said she was grateful for the efforts of pilots and ground crews who put out fires in her area, and she believes they should be allowed to do their job without interference from the municipalities.
“I don’t believe we have the technical expertise to tell those that are responsible for fighting the fires which piece of old equipment they should use,” she said.
“Let’s not screw with something that is working.”
Dylan Cash, also a Cariboo Regional District director, said the massive Plateau fire is still burning in his electoral area, and he spoke with incident managers who were on the ground.
He heard that aircraft like the Mars are no longer compatible with the type of firefighting they’re doing.
Cash suggested that money spent on a Mars contract would be better used on ground equipment and other strategic aircraft, such as helicopters. Another CRD director said fire mitigation should also take precedence over a water bomber contract.
Steve Dimock, a councillor for the Village of Salmo who is also a firefighter, said the Martin Mars debate comes down to optics — it looks good and impresses people, but it’s not the best use of resources.
“The effectiveness of the Mars bomber and the cost of operating it makes it not the best choice as a tool,” Dimock said.
A UBCM resolution on the Mars was passed in 2013 after the government’s contract with Coulson Group expired. It urged the province to renew the contract and retain the bomber as part of its fire-suppression program.
Delegates passed three other resolutions related to wildfires.
A Williams Lake resolution
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asked the provincial and federal governments to establish a $1-billion recovery fund for B.C. communities hit by this year’s wildfires.
The B.C. Wildfire Service will be
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urged to find ways to work with ranchers — who have equipment and local expertise that can help firefighters — on wildfire suppression.
A resolution from Cariboo
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Regional District and Williams Lake called for regulations that ensure fire mitigation strategies prioritize public safety over forest management initiatives like harvesting and reforesting affected areas.